Micrometer calipers



w. D. LA ZBATT ac. 25 F1923.

MI CROMETER CALIPERS Filed June 5. 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Dec. 25,

WILLIAM:

a stares raiser earner ra ion- 1). LA BATT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,ASSIGNOB T ELISHA J. CADY, OF OAK PARK, ILLINOIS.

IIIICROIIIETER CALIPERS.

Application filed June 5,

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that a citizen of Chicago, in the county the United States,

of Illinois, having invented certain new an useful Improvements in dohereby declare pers, is a full, clear, and same, reference bein ingdrawing.

Micrometer Calithat the following exact description of the g had to theaccompany- The invention relates to micrometer calipers for measuringous materials, the thicknesses or p of paper-stock in the thicknesses ofvanand especially for measuring oint-s of different grades variations ofone-thousandth part of an inch. r

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described and thenpointed out in the appended cla ims, and its features are illustrated inthe accompanying drawing in which, Fig.

1 is a top plan view of the device showing the general arrangement ofparts; Fig. 2 is a detail top plan view of the Fi l is a similar detailview C2 W n big. 0 illustrating tion between the operating handle ofparts of the lost-motion connecand the actuating shaft with parts inelevation;

Fig. line 5 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is on the line 5 is a vertical sectional view on the a detailvertical sectional View 66 in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 7 is a detail horizontal sectional view on the line 7'? in Fig. 6.

In the drawings the reference numeral 1 represents the base having alower central anvil 2 and supporting a curved bracket-arm 3 whichcarries at its upper end a suitable circular block 4: provided with acentral opening concentric with the anvil 2.

A suitable casing or housing 5 is constructed with an upper. circularchamber 6 and a lower circular well 7 concentric with the upper chamberbut of reduced diameter, the vertical wall 8 of the reduced Well 7fitting into the central opening tending in further the block to form ofthe block a and exreduced diameter below a circular bushing or annulus 9in line with the anvil 2. A mounting plate 10 is secur ed in centralposition on 1922. Eerial No. 566,043.

the floor of the upper chamber 6 over the upper end of the well 7, andis provided with an opening in the axial line of the well to afiord abearing for the screw-shaft 11; the upper plain portion of this shaft isrevolubly mounted in the plate 10 but is held therein againstlongitudinal displacement by the upper pinion 12 and the 13 fixedthereon. lhe upper end of the shaft passes freely through a dial-plate14 above which it carries a pointer 15; the dial-plate is fixed to theupper flange of the casing and is provided with an indicating scale onwhich the graduations or divisions are marked clockwise in units fromzero to 100 as shown in Fig. 1, and above the pointer and upper end ofthe shaft a glass closureplate 16 is spaced from the dial-plate by anintermediate head 17, these parts being held in position on the flangeof the casing by a flanged retaining ring 18 secured thereto. The lowerportion of the shaft 11 is screw threaded and engages thecorrespondingly interiorly threaded upper end of a plunger 19 whichextends from the well 7 down through the annulus 9 and carries at itslower end a measuring anvil or foot 20 in vertical alinement with thestationary anvil The threads on the screw-shaft and plunger are ten (10)to the inch so that the plunger moves vertically one-tenth (1/10) of aninch at each revolution of the screwshaft and pointer 15, or one hundredpoints of one one-thousandth of an inch each. The plunger 19 has asliding fit within the annulus 9 but is held normally against rotationtherein by a guide-collar 21 fitting on its shouldered upper end andslidably engaging a post 22 fixed in the plate 10 and projecting downinto the well 7. The collar 21 preferably is split and its free ends aredrawn together by the transverse screw 23 to frictionally engage theplunger, the engagement of these parts being tight enough to hold theplunger from turning under normal operations of the machine but allowingthe plunger to be turned in the collar by a proper spanner-tool (notshown) when it is desired to adjust the plunger on the screwshaft to setthe foo-t 20 on the anvil 2 when the pointer 15 is at zero on the scale;in other words, in setting up or calibrating the instrument the plungermav be turned by the spanner to overcome the friction of its guidecollar and revolve it on the screw-shaft one lower set-collar way or theother until its adjustment is co1n pleted to bring the anvils togetherwhen the pointer 15 is at zero on the scale.

The anvil 2 preferably is universally adjustable in the base and forthis purpose it is mounted therein by a ball and socket joint orbearing. The body of the anvil is rounded or convex and fits in acorrespondingly curved or concave seat 2 in the horizontal web of thebase, being held against displacement therein by a tap-bolt 2 threadedtherein at its inner end and passing through an opening 24 in the bottomof the seat where its head. engages a washer 25 having a concave innerface frictionally engaging the convex outer face of the seat. The innerface of the washer and the inner and outer faces of the seat are curvedconcentrically with the curvature of the body of the anvil; thecurvatures of the co-operating parts are struck on arcs of circleshaving radii of unequal lengths described from the center of the upperplane face of the anvil, as shown at m in Fig 5, so that the anvil canbe moved in any direction in its seat to adjust its face in any angularposition. This adjustability of the anvil enables the machine to be setabsolutely at zero as the face of the lower anvil thus is brought intoalinement with the measuring foot when the latter is set down upon itbyturning the sleeve 19 with the spanner as above described; the opposingplane faces of the anvil and foot are in flush engagement.

The pinion 12 on the screw-shaft meshes with a larger gear-wheel 26fixed on the lower end of a sleeve 27 which is revolubly mounted in thechamber 6 on a stud-shaft 28,and a small pinion 29 fixed on the upperend of the sleeve meshes with a larger sector-gear 30' which is fixed onthe upper end of a vertical actuating-shaft 31 that is mounted inanupright bearing 32 secured in the plate 10. The shafts 28 and 31 are onopposite sides of the screw-shaft, and the sector-gear is cut-away toclear the latter shaft; the ratio of the gear is such that for eachstroke of the actuating-shaft the screw shaft and pointer will make morethan three revolutions. The actuating-shaft 31 is lo cated beyond theoutline of the vertical wall 8 of the well 7 so that its lower endextends through the bottom wall of the chamber 6' and rests in a seat 33in the block 4, and the outer face of the block is cutaway to form anangular recess 34 about the shaft 31 to movably receive the inner end ofthe operating handle 35 which is connected to the actuating shaft 31.When the foot 20 is closed down upon the anvil 2 the handle 35 standsout in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and in full lines in Fig. 3,with its front stop-shoulder 36 against the corresponding short wall ofthe recess 34; to open or separate the foot from the anvil the handle ismoved inwardly more or less according to the degree of separationrequired, and when the handle is swung-to its extreme inward positionits rear stopshoulder' 37 abuts against the long wall of the recess 3 1as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. The sector-gear 30 carries a radialarm 38 to which one end of a retractile coil-spring 39 is fastened, itsother end being secured to a pin 40 in the chamber 6; when the handle ismovedto its inner position to move the sector-gear to raise thescrew-shaft the spring is put under tension, and when the handle isreleased the spring retracts the sector-gear and lowers the screw-shaftto position to bring the foot 20 into engagement with the material orstock on the anvil, or to close the foot on the anvil when no materialis being measured. lVhen the foot 20 meets the resistance of the stockor fabric on the anvil 2, the thrust-collar 13 on the screw-shaft takesup the pressure.

The handle 35 preferably has a return lost-motion connection with theshaft 31. For this purpose the lower end of the shaft 31 is cut-away orfaced-off for about half its diameter to provide a flat transverse faceas shown at 41, and the hole in the handle into which this portion ofthe shaft fits is provided with an abutment plate 42 arranged at anangle to the face 41, the parts being disposed so that the outer end ofthe abutment bears against the outer edge of the face'4ll when the partsare in their normal positions with the a-nvils closed, as shown in fulllines in Fig. Now when the handle is swung inwardly the outer end of theabutment presses on the face and turns the shafts 11 and 31 clockwise.lVhen the handle reaches its inward position its stop 37 hits the frame,but the lost-motion connections between the handle and shaft allows thelatter to make any overthrow that may be caused by the momentum of the 7moving parts; the throw of these parts is taken up by the spring 39, andthe blow of the handle against the frame is not transmitted to any ofthe interior parts. Also, this lost-motion connection allows the handleto be thrown back to its normal position without operating or affectingthe shaft 31,

and so without disturbing the interior parts; this is advantageous as itfrequently happens that while stock or material is between the anvilsand so the screw-shaft cannot descend the handle isinadvertentlyretracted by a' careless operator or is accidentallystruck, and with the lost-motion connection neither occurrence affectsthe actuating shaft and so produces no unusual strain or stress on theparts. The handle canbe returned to its normal position regardless ofthe positions of the other parts, and when the stock is removed frombetween the anvils the spring 39 will restore the other parts to theirnormal positions as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and in full lines in Fig. 3.In prac tice the lower end of the shaft 31 is casehardened and the plate42 is made of termpered steel to obviate wear and play between theparts.

The return of the parts to their normal positions by the force of thespring 39 is controlled by a centrifugal governor. The plate 10 isprovided at one side of the line of the shafts with a shallow circularpit 43 in which a shaft 44 is axially mounted with its upper end in abearing-bracket 45 carried at the top of a vertical post 46 in thechamber 6, and the shaft is provided with radial-rods 47 in the pit onwhich weights or discs 48 are slidably mounted to move outward bycentrifugal force and frictionally engage the inner face of the wall ofthe pit when the shaft 44 is rotated. The shaft 44 carries a fixedpinion 49 in mesh with a gear-wheel 50 revolubly mounted on the shaft 11above the pinion 12, and the gearwheel 50 carries on its underside aspringpressed pawl 51 adapted to wipe idly over the teeth of the pinion12 when the latter is turned by the handle in the direction to move thepointer 15 clockwise on the scale and raise the foot 21, and to engage atooth of the pinion 12 and move with it when it is retracted by thespring 39 to lower the foot 21. The teeth of the pinion 12 are formed tothus co-operate with the pawl which is pivoted on the wheel 50 at 52 andis held against the teeth of the pinion 12 by a spring 53 mountedthereon; a front stop 54 prevents the pawl from bottoming in the teethof the ratchet 13 which affords an advantage in assembling the machineas the pawl then will drop into the ratchet at any point, and a rearstop 55 keeps the pawl from being thrown out of operative relation bycentrifugal action while allowing it to clear the ratchet. When thehandle is turned to raise the foot 20 the pinion 12 turns away from thepoint of the pawl which wipes over it so that the pawl-carrying gear 50is not rotated, and hence the governor is inactive. When the handle isreleased the retracting spring 39 turns the sector-gear 30 back towardits normal position and reversely rotates the pinion 12, and thepawl-carrying gear 50 is correspondingly rotated by its pawl engagingthe pinion 12, the shaft 44 is rotated rapidly and the governor weights48 frictionally engage the wall of the pit; the governor takes controlof the closing of the foot 20 on the stock or on the anvil 2, andretards the return of the parts by the force of the spring 39, so thatthe foot 20 is I not brought down with a blow and the parts are notsubjected to a corresponding strain or shock. The centrifugal governorregulates the descent of the plunger so that its speed is uniformthroughout its down travel and its impact is always of the same force;

also, this feature enables the throat of the arm 3 or'the passagewaybetween the base 1 and-block 4 to be extended or deepened to any extentnecessary to receive very large sheets of stock or material to calibratethem at any point in their area.

The machine is'also provided with a trip indicator to show the number ofrevolutions of the pointer 15 or the number of hundred points ofseparation between the anvils. The actuating shaft 31 carries anindicator sector-plate 56 which moves below a correspondingly shapedslot 57 in the dial plate 14. The sector-plate 56 carries an indicatingmark 58 which when the machine is assembled or calibrated is placed inregister with a Zero mark on the dial-plate 14 near one end of the slot57; the plate 56 is frictionally held on the shaft 31 so that thisadjustment is readily made. The dial-plate 14' also carries the numerals100, 200 and 300 arranged at suitable distances along the slot 57; theindicator sector and its associated marks are correlated with thegradations on the dial 14 in accordance with the ratio of rotation ofthe actuating shaft 31 and the screw-shaft 11. When the instrument isclosed the trip mark 58 stands at zero; when the pointer 15 has made.one revolution or trip and the distance between the anvils is 1/10 of aninch the mark 58 stands at 100 indicating that the separation betweenthe anvils will measure 100 points of 1/ 1000 of an inch each; when thepointer has made two revolutions or trips the mark sl ands at 200, andwhen the pointer has made three revolutions or trips the mark stands at300. When the anvil is raised'the mark 58 moves to correspondingposition, and when the anvil 20 is set down on the material resting onthe lower anvil 2 this mark will show the number of revolutions or tripsof the pointer 15 at which the reading is taken; for example, for stockgreater than 2/10 of an inch in thickness and for which the anvil 20must correspondingly rise and the pointer 15 must make more than tworevolutions or trips, the mark 58 stands beyond 200 and the pointer 15stands at the point (say 35) on its dial equal to the excess beyond 200corresponding to the thickness of the material in excess of 2/10 of aninch, and so the two indicators 48 and 15 give the total reading of 235points for the sample being calibrated.

in using the machine, the parts normally stand in the position shown inFigs. 1 and 2, with the measuring foot on the anvil, the pointers atzero, and the handle swung out. Upon moving the handle inwardly theshaft 31 is oscillated and the gear 30 moved to rotate the shaft 11whereby the foot is raised andthe pointers moved on the scales. If thehandle ismoved to its limit the shaft 11 and pointer 15 will be givenslightly more than three full revolutions and the pointer 58 will bemoved slightly beyond 300, and if the stock to be calipered is nowinserted on the anvil under the foot and the handle is released thespring 39 will return the parts toward their normal positions until thefoot reaches the stock on the anvil, when their further movement will bearrested and the pointers will stop on the dials. When calipering heavyor thick grades of stock it will-stop the descent of the foot when thepointer 58 is past one of its indicating units, say between 200 and 300,and this pointer will then indicate that the stock exceeds themeasurement of the unit 200 and the pointer 15 will indicate theintermediate unit or point, so that the in dication and reading of themeasurement of the stock are direct and without any computation by theoperator. hen the stock to be caliper-ed is thin or lightv the movementof'the pointer 15 need not exceed the point to raise the foot far enoughto allow the stock to be inserted on the anvil, the screw-shaft need notnecessarily be given a full revolution, but in any event the descent ofthe foot 20 is arrested by the stock with the pointer 15 on theappropriate unit to give directindication and reading of the thicknessof the stock. In any use of the machine the centrifugal governor opposesand modifies the force and quick action of the return spring 39 andcushions the return of the foot 20 on the anvil or stock so that thereis no blow of the foot and no shock or strain on any of the parts of themachine.

I claim:

1. in a calipering device, a base, an anvil, a ball and socket jointconnecting the anvil and base, a measuring-foot, a movable handle, ascale and revoluble pointer, a shaft actuating the pointer, operatingconnections between the shaft and foot, and gear connections between theshaft and handle to operate the former when the latter is moved.

2. In a calipering device, a base, a seat in. the base provided with avertical hole and having concentric inner and outer faces, an anvilhaving a plane face and body curved to fit the inner face of the seat, awasher curved to fit the outer face of the seat, a tap bolt in the holeconnecting the washer and anvil, a measuring foot having a plane faceopposite the face of the anvil, a scale and revoluble pointer, a handle,and operating connections between the foot, the pointer and the handle.

3. In a calipering device, a frame having an anvil and an upper chamber,a screwshaft in the chamber, a pointer on the shaft, a dial for thepointer, a plunger threaded.

frictionally engaging 'the and carrying a measuring foot, a split collarin the chamber held against rotation and means to rotate the shaft.

4. In a calipering device, a 'frame having an anvil and an upperchamber, a screwshaft in the chamber, a pointer on the shaft, a dial forthe pointer, a. plunger threaded on said shaft and slidably actuatedthereby and carrying a measuring foot, means to rotate the shaft, andmeans constructed to hold the plunger against turning when the shaft isrotated and permit the plunger to be turned on the shaft to adjustthe'foot in relation to the anvil.

5. In a caliper-ino' device, a frame, a pair of measuring memlierscomprising a movable plunger and an anvil, a ball and socket jointconnectingthe anvil and frame, a rotatable shaft, a threaded connectionbetween the shaft and plunger, a guide-collar frictionally engaging theplungen'and means to hold the collar against rotation, whereby theplunger may be adjusted on the shaftin relation to the anvil and heldagainst turning when the shaft is rotated.

'6. In a calipering device, an anvil, a handle, a reciprocating plungercarrying a measuring foot, ascale and revoluble pointer, a screw-shaftthreaded to the plunger and carrying the pointer and a fixed pinion,gear connections between the pinion and handle, a gear wheel loose onthe shaft, a spring-pressed pawl on the gear wheel to engage the pinion,a governor actuated by the gear wheel to cushion the return-stroke ofthe plunger, and a return-spring put under tension when the plungerisraised.

7. In a calipering device, an anvil, a handle, a reciprocating plungercarrying a measuring foot, operating connections be tween theplunger andhandle including a screw-shaft threaded to the plunger, a scale, arevoluble pointer on the shaft, a gear wheel loose on the shaft, a pawland ratchet connection bet-ween the shaft and gear wheel, areturn-spring for the plunger, and a centrifugal governor actuated bythe gear wheel to cushion the spring-actuated stroke of the plunger.

8. In a calipering device, an anvil, a re ciprocating plunger carryinga' measuring foot, a scale and a revoluble pointer therefor, ascrew-shaft carrying the pointer and threaded to the plunger, anactuating shaft, gear-connections between the shafts, a hanthe,connections between the handle and actuating shaft constructed topositively move said shaft when the handle is moved fromits normalposition and to provide return lost motion between these parts, and areturn-spring put under tension when the actuating shaft is moved fromits normal position.

plunger, and

9. In a calipering device, an anvil, a reciprocating plunger carrying ameasuring foot, a scale, a screw-shaft threaded to the plunger andhaving a revoluble pointer above the scale, an actuating shaft having aflat face, gear connections between the shafts, a handle having anangular portion engaging the face of the actuating shaft in the normalposition of the parts, and a return-spring for the actuating shaft.

10. In a calipering device, a frame having an anvil and an upper block,a casing on the block having a scale, a reciprocating plunger carrying ameasuring foot, a screwshaft threaded to the plunger and carrying apointer above the scale, an actuating shaft, gear connections betweensaid shafts, a handle having front and rear stops constructed to abut onthe block, and connections be- 2 tween the handle and actuating shaftconstructed to provide lost-motion between these parts when the handleis returned to its normal position.

11. In a calipering device, an anvil, a reciprocating plunger carrying ameasuring foot, a screw shaft threaded to the plunger and having apointer, an actuating shaft having a handle, gear connections betweenthe shafts constructed to turn the screw shaft a plurality of times foreach stroke of the actuating shaft, a dial plate having a scale for saidpointer and a curved slot in its body, a supplemental scale on the dialplate adjacent said slo-t, mounted on the actuating shaft andco-operating with said supplemental scale,

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WM. D. LA. BATT.

and a pointer

